Following a raid on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, Nicolas Maduro, Washington has once again threatened to annex Greenland
The United States is growing more distant from some of its allies and pulling back from international rules, French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Thursday. His remarks come a week after Washington carried out a military raid on Venezuela and again threatened to annex Denmark’s autonomous territory of Greenland.
Earlier this month, American commandos launched a series of airstrikes on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and multiple other regions of the country, while abducting President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. On Friday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that a military option was on the table for Greenland, which he claimed would be taken over by China or Russia if Washington did not act.
“We are living in a world of great powers, where there’s a genuine urge to carve up the globe among themselves,” Macron said during his annual address to French ambassadors, commenting on recent events.
“The US is an established power, yet one that is slowly turning its back on some allies and shedding the international rules it was advocating not that long ago – whether in trade or certain security matters,” the French leader emphasized.
Macron also noted that France and the EU are presently “confronting neo-colonial aggression” while being “exposed to anti-colonial rhetoric that no longer reflects reality.”
Since his first term, Trump has pursued full ownership of Greenland, emphasizing that the island is critical to Arctic security. These claims have become a major source of tension between Washington and European NATO members.
On Monday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that a US annexation of Greenland would essentially mark the end of NATO. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK subsequently joined her in a statement declaring that the island “belongs to its people.”
On Friday, Trump said he preferred to take the “easy way” with Greenland. When asked about compensation, he did not dismiss paying Greenlanders but stressed that Washington would “do it the hard way” if necessary.